Sunday, July 27, 2014

Man of Leisure

When I was still in my teens (I am still there mentally
though), I had read a short story about a man of leisure; it was a great story
of a Scotsman who simply lived a life of leisure, doing or not doing anything
that he did or didn’t want to do. He wasn’t tied down by any other conditions
of life; everything depended upon his wish. That to me had seemed a charming
way of living; live the way you wish, do what you want and do not do what you
do not want to – very simple. Over the years in search of true freedom I never
realized that I too had become a sort of man of leisure. And just few days ago
a distant friend (distant in distance) pointed out to me that I was a man of
leisure; which, she promptly added, was the pipe dream of most men and women
anyway.

Due to my faltering and blistering grasp of the language, I first
checked the online Oxford Dictionary (don’t tell me you still own and consult a
paper real dictionary) for the definition and it proclaimed – a person who does
not need to earn a living. Which in effect means he or she can do whatever he
pleases and hence whatever he does is his leisure activity and doesn’t have to
bother if the activity gets any money or not. So if your activities are not
bound by the need to earn money then whatever you are and do becomes leisure
(or so I suppose). Consequently, which means, that everyone who has to earn a
living is not a person of leisure.

After digesting this fact for the better part of a second I introspected
for another ten and realized that it indeed applies to me; I really do not need
to earn a living. Even if I do not stir a single hair of my body for the
purpose of earning money, I would still be well kept, fed, groomed (in the most
absurd manner) and maintained by resources that generated adequate income of
its own. This condition can often lead to two outcomes; either one could become
totally lazy and incompetent since now all you can do is to sit and eat and
watch TV or sit and eat and sleep, or sit and eat and do nothing, or sit and
eat and gossip, and whatever... or you can now do anything that you have ever
dreamt of since now money is not a concern anymore and you can aspire for
anything.

With me this has had a mixture of both, some days I am
really lazy since I have no office to go, no one to answer to, no one to
control or rebuke, nothing that I am forced to do or obliged to, no one around
that I am supposed to talk or take out or smile at, no kids to drop or pick up,
no woman to hug or cuddle or kiss, no one to ask me who I was or what was I thinking,
so in such days I may simply lie in bed or stare at a wall or just stay quiet
or go out and watch the passing clouds overhead and simply do absolutely
nothing that could be humanly construed as constructive or of any benefit to
mankind or the planet.

On most other days, being a man of leisure, without any
constraints about money, I am enthused to follow my heart, even if it means
sliding down into the most mortifying stinking sink hole in the world or
freezing my ass off into frozen landscapes, I will follow my heart wherever it
takes me. From the depths of the deepest oceans where light doesn’t penetrate
to the loftiest of the summits where light never leaves; furthest corners of
the world, where human are not designed to go or prevail, or few are allowed to
visit; and these journeys of mine even happens subliminally allowing my mind to
travel where my body may not be able to follow immediately (even this needs
freeing your senses). So being a man of leisure has both its advantages and
drawbacks, though I wouldn’t really change my status for all the drawbacks in
the world of being so.

I keep turning down offers, many ludicrously lucrative ones
as well, when they do not fancy my heart, whereas I often take up causes that
instead of paying me anything I end up paying, yet they fulfil my heart’s
fancy. Money has never been and will never be the criteria for what I do. If money
follows what my heart fancies then of course it is welcome since then I can
disburse that money to others who really need it; and thus being a conduit for
resources (my answer to those who say why I would charge money for things I love
anyway). It’s not about doing things for free, but it is about being free to do
whatever you want to and that truly is being a man of leisure. If you offer
things for free, many times your actions are not respected and regarded and
even misconstrued as you having an ulterior motive since the world simply
cannot understand how something of value can be attained freely.

Now coming to the vital question you all might be itching to
ask: can one become a person of leisure? Of course you can; if I could so can
anyone. You can do anything but as long as the reason for your doing it is not
to earn money you are a man of leisure according to my dictionary. The freedom
of action lies in disengaging your need for money that leads you to do
something. So in a way, all of us, at sometime or the other do act like a man
of leisure. But can you make that into your life’s underlying modus-operandi. I
believe you can since the choice lies within you. Just follow your heart and do
what you really love to do, without any thoughts about money, so even when you
are doing something you are not doing it for money or to earn a living. But like
I always say, when you do something you love, you will eventually become very
good at it, and when you become very good at something (no matter how trivial
or absurd), someone would be willing to pay you for that. And money will start
coming in; even when you are not earning a livelihood.

Now the ultimate question; how on earth did I become a man
of leisure that I don’t need to earn a living; how did I achieve it. Actually I
have no definite idea though I can give some pointers. Basically my needs aren’t
much so I don’t really need all that money. What I need (of course I need money
for food, clothing, travel, medicine etc) is either paid for by someone kind
and generous or is taken care of by sponsors or by some grants that I get for
some of my past deeds (these grants are lifelong luckily and I don’t have to do
anything to keep them going). You can of course argue that with my meagre
source of money that is automatically generated without lifting even a finger
is sufficient since I keep myself single away from any tangle while I just
dangle from places that don’t need the money angle.

But then I cannot go out and buy a sports car or stay in the
most luxurious hotels or travel in first class or wear Rolex or indulge in
anything that money can procure. Here I have to agree with you, yes it is
absolutely true that I cannot indulge in anything that money can or does buy in
this world; yet I do at times travel first class, do have one of the most expensive
Tag Heuer models (though I am giving it away next month), am often driven
around in sports car around the world and do stay in some of the world’s top
luxury hotels where I sleep on the floor since their beds are too soft or big
for my comfort. And all these things happen to me without making any efforts at
all.

Yet I must insist that though my best clothes are the ones I
climb and hike with, my shoes are always in tatters, I barely own anything
materialistic, I am still a man of leisure with high happiness quotient since I
don’t need to earn a living and neither do I want any of the luxuries or opulence
that money can buy. What will I do with them anyway, where will I keep a sports
car and I can always sleep on the floor of a B&B or on a beach. I cannot
buy a villa because I have absolutely no desire to buy one (even if I had the
money) and that is pretty much the secret of being a man of leisure. Whether you
are attached or free from your desire to earn a living depends to a large
extent upon your desires for materialism.

1 comment:

LOL, you are such a laugh! ... thank you for enlightening us about your desires and needs and per say lifestyle, my 'man of leisure' Though am sure that most of us who know you already know all that you penned above ;-D

About Me

As a child, i had three wishes: to be a submariner (i did), to be a published author (i did, but won't rest till the Nobel and Booker rest on my mantle) and to be a mountaineer (still trying to fulfill this one).I am otherwise a globe trotting thrill seeker and have climbed the seven summits and skied to both the poles and then some.

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